Arts Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026

Arts Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026

8:30am EDT

Registration & Breakfast Ballroom A

8:50am EDT

Welcome & Opening Remarks Ballroom A

9:00am EDT

Collective Stories: An experimental group creation lab for disaster contexts 330CWyn Batson • Taiga Christie • Nicole Garneau • Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez Gathering the Story: Story Circles as a Tool for Community Connection, Preparedness & Recovery 330ENicole Breazeale • Ryan Linton • Melissa Bond Building and Sustaining Cultural Disaster Response Networks 375Christina Cain • Tom Clareson • Mollie Quinlan-Hayes • Leah Hamilton Move to Connect: Creative Movement for Community Connection 231Susie Thiel • Amy Kostelic

12:30pm EDT

Lunch & Networking Ballroom A Roundtable Discussion: AFTA Incubator Three-Month Convening Ballroom AMital Lyons-Warren • Mollie Quinlan-Hayes • Tom Clareson

1:30pm EDT

Arts in Disaster: Shaping Tools to Support Community Connection and Wellbeing 330EHeather Spooner Building Social Connection Through Participatory Arts: A Train-the-Trainer Workshop to Strengthen Organizational Well-Being 231Renee Gallagher Resource Mapping Forum for Arts and Cultural Response Networks 330CChristina Cain • Colleen Carroll • Mollie Quinlan-Hayes • Tom Clareson • Leah Hamilton

3:15pm EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB Many Hands: A tabletop practice session for arts and disaster response 375Wyn Batson • Taiga Christie • MC Erskine Meaning through Making: Using Collage to Bring Order from Chaos After Disaster Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Jessica Evans

8:15am EDT

Registration & Continental Breakfast Ballroom A

8:45am EDT

Welcome & Opening Remarks Ballroom A

9:00am EDT

Power of Art: Community Based Art Therapy After Gun Violence Ballroom ARaquel Farrell-Kirk • Stacey Kesten

9:45am EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break Ballroom A

10:00am EDT

ArtShine: Illuminating the Healing Potential of the Arts 330DTimothy Deaton-Conway • Lindsey Branson The Art of Paying it Forward Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Jordan Phemister • Jill Celaya • Elizabeth Riley • Helen Siewers A Guided Tour of Readiness, Response, and Recovery Resources: Navigate the landscape of support for artists and arts organizations 375Mollie Quinlan-Hayes • Emily Sollenberger Legacy Planning and Archiving for the Active Artist: What you’ve created merits preservation 330CTom Clareson • Cora Barnes Safeguarding Community Celebrations: Lessons from Greenup County’s Between Two Rivers Arts & Preparedness Project 330EMelissa Bond • Anne Stephens The Healing Power of Dance 231EveMarie Bessenbach

10:30am EDT

From Comic Book Inker to Crisis Leader 330DJason York

11:00am EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB

11:15am EDT

Community Identity and the Perception of Post-Hurricane Arts Engagement: A Regional Case Study of Northwest Florida and Coastal Alabama 330ECrystal King Wallner Fostering Dynamic Resilience: Developing & Measuring a Resilient Organization 231Josh Austin Revealing Our Fragile Future: How Architecture Can Make Climate Vulnerability Visible Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Morris (Marty) Hylton III • Jennifer Wellock Disasters, Data, and Decision-Making: Finding and Understanding Local Disaster-Related Data 375Julie N. Zimmerman • Jeff Young NCAPER Learning Sprint: Risk Assessment, Business Continuity, Navigating Crises and Legacy Planning 330DMollie Quinlan-Hayes • Tom Clareson • Mital Lyons-Warren Rampart: Readiness and Legacy Planning for Musicians 330CGene Meneray • Ashlye Keaton

11:45am EDT

Arts Emergency Management in Higher Education: A New Pedagogy for Resilience 231Rachel Shane • Leah Hamilton Creative Resilience: How Arts-Based Practices Support Community Healing 330EShelly Krajny

12:15pm EDT

Lunch & Networking Ballroom A

12:45pm EDT

Roundtable Discussion #1: Arts in Disaster: A Conversation Around Tools for Community Connection and Wellbeing Ballroom AHeather Spooner • Sara Baicich Roundtable Discussion #2: Retreating to Advance: CAReNet's artist-led approach to disaster relief and recovery Ballroom ASarah M. Schmitt • Kiana Mahjub Roundtable Discussion #3: The Arts and Post Disaster Recovery Resource Ballroom ALucia Girado • Crystal King Wallner Roundtable Discussion #4: Local Arts Agencies: Essential Infrastructure for Disaster Readiness, Response, and Recovery Ballroom AMital Lyons-Warren • Eleanor Billington Roundtable Discussion #5: Prepared to Thrive: Building Performing Arts Resilience On and Off the Stage Ballroom ACarol Foster • Tom Clareson Roundtable Discussion #6: Connection as Prevention: Building Arts, Health, and Community Response Networks After Disaster Ballroom AMoira Pirsch • Erin Brothers • Hoku Pavao • Anna Pirsch

1:45pm EDT

UK Robinson Center: To Rebuild>To Refocus>To Recover 330EDaniel Wilson National Efforts, Local Impact: Insights from the NEA and Creative Forces Arts in Disaster Programming Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Heather Spooner • Bill O'Brien • Eleanor Billington • Sara Kass • Sara Baicich Cultural Emergency Response Map: Safeguarding Puerto Rico’s Heritage 231Hilda Teresa Ayala González After the Storm: Storybooks and other Arts-Based Practices for Children’s Disaster Readiness and Recovery 330DNicole Breazeale • David Weisenhorn • Jessica Evans • Natese Dockery • Melissa Bond EmComm for All: Basic radio communication for resilient communities 330CSamuel Lockridge Lost in Translation: When Arts Administrators and Emergency Managers Speak Different Languages 375Cameron Baxter Lewis

2:15pm EDT

Interdisciplinary Links from Appalachian Water Humanities Cooperative 330ENicole Marks • Kathryn Newfont • Kopana Terry • Matthew Strandmark

2:45pm EDT

Networking & Refreshment Break 330AB

3:00pm EDT

From Fly Loft to Rescue Loft: Using Theatre Spaces for High Rescue Training 330CAlicia Jay The Late Recovery Gap: Make-Break-Transform, an Arts-Based Framework for Community-Led Recovery 330EMichelle Rene Hill From Forecast to First Response: An All‑Hazards Panel for Arts and Culture with a Meteorologist and an Emergency Manager Brockman Senate Chamber (2nd floor)Jane Marie Wix • Jason York • Leah Hamilton • Melissa Bond Creative Disasters: Movement workshop for disaster storytelling 330DWyn Batson • Taiga Christie • Nicole Garneau • Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez In the Wake of Disasters: Defining and Mitigating Traumas 375Rachel Hooper

3:30pm EDT

Case Study: A Cultural Treasure Engulfed in Flames 330EJoshua Prentice Stronger Together: Forging a Rural Arts and Culture Disaster Resilience Network in Vermont 231Amy Cunningham The Alianza Cultural para Emergencias de Puerto Rico: Building Connections and Resilience through Educational Innitiatives 330CHilda Teresa Ayala González

4:15pm EDT

Closing Plenary Performance: "Down by the River" Ballroom AJulie Hobbs

5:00pm EDT

Closing Reception Ballroom A